Mexico Shows Solidarity with Russia, Declines Economic Sanctions

Mexico expressed full solidarity with Russia, on Tuesday, refusing to impose any economic sanctions on Russia for invading Ukraine.

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador criticized what he called censorship of Russian state-sponsored media by social media companies.

“We are not going to take any sort of economic reprisal because we want to have good relations with all the governments in the world,” López Obrador told a news conference.

Mexico’s position stands in contrast to the international sanctions imposed on Russia for President Vladimir Putin’s actions in Ukraine.

In like manner, Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro assured Putin of his "strong support" amid the heavy sanctions imposed on Russia due to Ukraine's invasion.

In a telephone call, the Venezuelan leader condemned "destabilizing actions of the United States and NATO" and spoke out against a Western campaign of "lies and disinformation," the Kremlin said.

On his part, Putin insisted the objectives of the military assault were to "protect the civilian population" of the Donbass separatist region and to get Kiev to recognize Russian sovereignty over Crimea, which it annexed in 2014.